ABSTRACT
The issue of inclusion remains one of the most controversial aspects of education as far as parents of dyslexic children are concerned. Is it a better educational experience for the child to be included in mainstream schooling, or to attend a school or unit designed to address their specific needs? The current thinking in education is that inclusion is the right policy to adopt. In this chapter, I shall set out the issues involved in inclusion from a parent's perspective, illustrating my points with anecdotal evidence drawn from the experience of my son Matthew, and from the many dyslexic children who have formed part of my research panel for many years. I have followed these children from the age of seven, until they reached their mid-20s, and in the process befriended both them and their parents. This places me in a relatively unique position, in that I can not only represent their viewpoint, but also interpret the outcomes from the point of view of a psychologist. So in this chapter, rather than adopting my usual role as a researcher examining objective evidence, I am interested in the subjective experience of education which dyslexic children receive, as well as the objective analysis of the outcomes of that experience. Here I am acting as an advocate for dyslexic children whose lives are affected by the policy to include or not include. It is important to note that my views may differ from other commentators in the field, some of whom adopt a more emotive approach to the issues here. I should state at this point that I am a strong advocate for inclusion wherever possible, not least because of the stress which can be engendered for the child by placement in special educational classes
In my analysis, I draw on the work of Riddick (1996), who identifies good practice in supporting dyslexic children in mainstream school. Her work advocates the following approach: direct help with specific difficulties to improve basic skills; improving curriculum access; encouraging coping strategies and independent learning; and building up confidence and self-esteem. It seems to me that direct help with basic skills may be more easily delivered in special needs placements, and considerable care is needed to ensure that it is adequately achieved in mainstream school. Conversely, in my view, the remaining examples of good
practice would be difficult to deliver via special education, and are naturally represented in mainstream. The key issues here, in my experience, have been coping strategies and independent learning and self-confidence and esteem. These are the issues I seek to illustrate in my anecdotal account of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of inclusion. I also consider the recommendations of the DfEE (1997) report of the Excellence for All Schools on inclusion and special needs, and their impact on future educational practice, and conclude the chapter with my thoughts on the way forward.
